1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to document processing and, in particular, to systems and methods for scanning documents (hardcopy).
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, document processing devices, such as scanners, for example, are utilized for converting printed information, i.e., information printed on hardcopy, to an electronic, e.g., digital, format. By way of example, when a multi-page document is to be scanned, the pages of the document are individually scanned by the scanner. Oftentimes, the scanning process may include the use of an automatic document feeder (ADF) which enables the scanner to automatically draw a page from a stack of pages of the document. Each page is then provided to an appropriate portion of the scanner, e.g., the bed, for scanning.
When multiple documents are to be scanned, typically, each document (and its associated set of multiple pages) is scanned separately. More specifically, a document is scanned and then removed from the scanner prior to scanning the next document. This scanning process is utilized so that scan information corresponding to a scanned document does not become improperly associated with scan information of another scanned document. Utilization of such a scanning process, however, tends to reduce scanning efficiency as the scanner is intermittently utilized.
Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and methods that address these and other shortcomings of the prior art.